Air handling unit with a canopy thereover for use with a data center and method of using the same

ABSTRACT

Described herein is an air handling unit that includes canopies for compressor fans and exhaust fans located on a top thereof, which canopies provide for noise abatement and a canopy to assist in keeping precipitation out. The canopies further include louvers that can be controlled to provide for even further noise abatement and precipitation control.

1. FIELD OF THE ART

The present disclosure relates to air handling units disposed externalto a facility.

2. BACKGROUND

Data centers/server co-location facilities are well-known. In suchfacilities, rows of electronics equipment, such as servers, typicallyowned by different entities, are stored. In many facilities, cabinetsare used in which different electronics equipment is stored, so thatonly the owners of that equipment, and potentially the facilityoperator, have access therein. In many instances, the owner of thefacilities manages the installation and removal of servers within thefacility, and is responsible for maintaining utility services that areneeded for the servers to operate properly. These utility servicestypically include providing electrical power for operation of theservers, providing telecommunications ports that allow the servers toconnect to transmission grids that are typically owned bytelecommunication carriers, and providing air-conditioning services thatmaintain temperatures in the facility at sufficiently low levels forreliable operation.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,523,653, assigned to the same assignee and for whichthis application is a continuation-in-part, describes a data center thatincludes a plurality of external air handling units in which eachexternal air handling unit includes both an evaporator unit and acondenser unit, which units are located in a standardized, accessibleand relatively convenient positions relative to the facility should anyof the units need to be accessed and/or removed for repair orreplacement.

This present application uses the teachings provided in the above-notedrelated utility applications and provisional applications, and addscertain improvements as further described herein.

SUMMARY

Described herein is a system with improved air handling units, in whicheach of the air handling units contains a canopy thereover.

In one aspect is provided a facility with a plurality of air handlingunits that are each disposed on only one side external wall of afacility, with the canopy including a canopy that diverts noise backtoward the facility.

In another aspect, the air handling units further include a configurablelouver system within the canopy that is controllable to further providefor (1) further reducing noise emissions from the air handling unit, andparticularly exhaust fans that expel heated air into the externalenvironment as well as compressor fans that assist in expelling heatfrom a compressor coolant; and (2) further reducing precipitation fromentering into the air handling unit through the canopy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of thefollowing description of specific embodiments of the invention inconjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein:

FIG. 1(a) illustrates a top view of a data center or co-locationfacility according to U.S. Pat. No. 8,523,653.

FIGS. 1(b) 1-2 illustrate cut-away perspective views of an exterior andinterior portion of the data center or co-location facility according toU.S. Pat. No. 8,523,653.

FIGS. 2A-E illustrates an air handling unit according to U.S. Pat. No.8,523,653.

FIG. 3 illustrates a control system according to U.S. Pat. No.8,523,653.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of a canopy used with an air handlingunit according to an embodiment described herein.

FIG. 5 includes a block diagram of a control system used with an airhandling unit according to an embodiment described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the frame of the canopy, andthe louvers associated therewith, according to embodiments describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In one aspect, the embodiments herein are directed to an overall datamanagement center, including the building itself, interior aspects ofthe building, as well as air handling equipment purposefully locatedoutside yet in close proximity to the building, which air handlingequipment is used for purposes of providing both efficient buildingcooling, as described further herein.

FIG. 1(a) illustrates a top view of a portion of a data center orco-location facility 580 according to according to U.S. Pat. No.8,523,653. In this embodiment, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 1(a)-(c) of the '653 patent, the condenser air conditioning units 800 andheat expulsion chamber 900 are all disposed outside of the exteriorwalls 582 of the facility, as will be described further herein. There isalso additional equipment disposed outside of the exterior walls 582,including evaporation units 591 that feed cooled water along lines 592to the air conditioning units 800 as described further herein, as wellas backup diesel generators 594 for supplying backup power along atransmission line 596 in the case of power outage from remotely suppliedpower on the national power grid.

FIG. 1(b) 1 illustrates a cut-away perspective view of an exterior andinterior portion (with a 90° rotation for illustrative purposes of theinterior portion) of the data center or co-location facility 580, withthe exterior wall 582 being explicitly illustrated. Shown are two of thecabinet clusters 590-1A and 590-2A, and the corresponding hot air areacontainment chambers 210 and cold air ducts 310, which are respectivelyconnected to the warm exhaust outlets 240-0 and cold duct inlets 310-1.The warm exhaust outlets 240-0 and cold duct inlets 310-1 connect toheat expulsion chamber 900 and condenser units 800, respectively.

FIG. 1(b) 2 provides a slightly varied embodiment, in which the coldduct inlets 310-1 and warm exhaust outlets 240-0 are each at the samelevel as the condenser units 800 and heat expulsion chamber 900,respectively, and the warm exhaust outlets 240-0 contain a 90° angledarea, which allows for better hot air flow into the heat expulsionchambers 900.

Within the facility there are provided distribution areas 584 and 588,as shown in FIG. 1(a), as well as data center equipment areas 586, whichequipment areas 586 each contain an array of cabinet clusters 590 (shownin one of the rows as cabinet clusters 590-1, 590-2, 590-3 . . . 590-N),since within each cabinet cluster 590, various cabinets 110 containingdifferent electronic equipment are disposed in rows, thereby allowingeach cabinet cluster 590 to be locked, as well as the cabinets 110within the cabinet cluster 590.

As is illustrated in FIGS. 1(a) and 5(b) 1-2, one condenser unit 800 ispaired with one heat expulsion chamber 900, and each are preferablyindependently movable. As is further illustrated, the condenser units800 are built to a size standard that allows for transport along USstate and interstate highways. Further, the heat expulsion chamber 900is preferably sized smaller than the condenser unit 800, but stillhaving dimensions that allow for transport using a semi-trailer. Whentransported to the facility 500, the condenser unit 800 is first placedinto position, as shown here on posts 588, but other platforms can alsobe used. As shown in this embodiment, the heat expulsion chamber unit900 is placed over the condenser unit 800, though other placements, suchas adjacent or below, are also possible. Connections of power conduit,miscellaneous cabling, and water needed for proper operation of thecondenser units 800 and expulsion chamber 900 is preferably made usingeasily attachable and detachable components.

With this configuration, the units 800 and 900 are located instandardized, accessible and relatively convenient positions relative tothe facility 580 should any of the units 800/900 need to be accessedand/or removed for repair or replacement. Further, these units 800/900are themselves created using an intentionally transportable design.

FIGS. 2A-2E provide further details regarding the condenser unit 800 andits paired heat expulsion chamber 900. In particular, as shown, the airconditioning apparatus includes the condenser unit 800 and its pairedheat expulsion chamber 900. The heat expulsion chamber 900 receivesheated air, and emits vented air, and the vented air is released intothe external environment, while the condenser unit 800 emits cooled air.

The heat exchange unit 900 contains an exhaust fan 910, controlled by aVFD fan control and I/O signals block 1330 shown in FIG. 3 , that emitsheat from the heated air as the vented air, thereby allowing return airto pass through a return damper 920, which return damper 920 has areturn damper actuator associated therewith.

The condenser unit 800 includes an outside air inlet 810, and hasassociated an outside air damper 812, thereby allowing outside air topass therein. This outside air damper 812 is preferably coated with aneoprene seal to prevent pollution particles from passing through thedamper 812 when in a closed position, as well as contains aspring-loaded mechanism closing lever that will automatically close theoutside air damper 812 upon a removal of power, so that outside air isprevented from intake before backup generators 594 have to start, sinceafter a power-grid power failure condition, before the back-upgenerators start, uninterruptable power supplies will supply buildingpower, giving a period for the outside air damper 812 to close.

A filter chamber 820, which includes an air intake area 822 coupled tothe heat expulsion unit 900 and the outside air inlet 810, isconfigurable, via the AHU control system 1000, described hereinafter, toreceive the return air, the outside air, as well as a mixture of thereturn air and the outside air, the filter chamber resulting in filteredair. In a preferred implementation of the filters 824 within the filterchamber 820 are included a MERV 7 screen filter 824A with a MERV 16 bagfilter 824B therebehind, which allows replacement of the screen filter824A without replacement of the bag filter 824B, and vice-versa.

The condenser unit 800 includes an air cooling area 830 over which thefiltered air passes to create the cooled air. For ease of nomenclature,all of the air within the air cooling area 830 is referred to asfiltered air, and only upon emission from the condenser unit is itreferred to as cooled air. That notwithstanding, it is understood thatalong various stages of the air cooling area 830, the filtered air willget progressively cooler in temperature.

The air cooling area 830 of the condenser unit 800 includes a directcooling coil 840 filled with a gas for direct expansion, such as R 1 34gas, over which the filtered air passes, the gas being circulatedthrough a condenser 842 disposed in another area of the condenser unithousing, but still in the external area, outside of the building.

The air cooling area 830 also includes an indirect cooling coil 850filled with cooled water over which the filtered air passes, the cooledwater being circulated through an evaporation unit 590 also disposed inthe external area, via a water line 592 as shown in FIG. 5(a).Optionally, though not shown, another coil that is cooled by a chillercould be included.

Also shown in FIGS. 2A-2E is that the air cooling area also has anevaporator 860 that provides a water wall through which the filtered aircan pass. An evaporator bypass 862 allows all or some of the filteredair to bypass the evaporator 860, and a bypass damper 880 is opened toallow 100% bypass of the evaporator 860, in which case the evaporatordamper 890 is then fully closed. Filtered air can also be partiallybypassed, or all go through the evaporator 860, depending on thepercentage opening of each of the dampers 880 and 890.

Also within the air cooling area 830 is a fan 870, shown as a fan arrayof multiple fans, operable to push the filtered air through the aircooling area 830, as well as an outlet damper 880 controllable by anactuator and operable to control an amount of the cooled air deliveredfrom the air cooling area 830.

As shown and mentioned previously the heat exchange unit 900 iscontained within a first housing, and the condenser unit 800 iscontained within a second housing.

Furthermore, and with reference to FIG. 3 , overall air conditioningsystem for the data center 500 includes a control system 1000. Thecontrol system 1000 contains an air handling unit (AHU) and powercontrol system computer 1100, which is operable to automatically controleach of the exhaust fan 910, the return damper actuator, the outside airdamper actuator, the condenser 842, the bypass damper actuator, the fan870, and the outlet damper actuator.

Air Handling Unit Noise and Precipitation Features

With the aforementioned discussion of the air handler units, whichinclude the heat exchange unit 900 and the condenser unit 800, FIG. 4that sets forth improvements thereon is described, and is drawn toscale, as noted. The same numerals are used to refer to those componentsthat are the same in the above-described figures, and it is understoodthat their construction and functionality is the same unless notedotherwise herein. Thus, such features and advantages that are the sameare not described again, though their combination with new features andadvantages described herein also provide additional benefits.

As shown, the condenser air conditioning units 800 is disposed under theheat expulsion chamber 900, just as previously described above. Further,the airflow pattern from the warm exhaust outlets 240-0 (not shown) intoand through the heat expulsion chamber 900, then into and through thecondenser air conditioning units 800, for outputting back to the coldduct inlets 310-1 (not shown) is the same as previously described.

Altered, however, is the condenser unit 842, as well as the location ofthe exhaust fans 910, in the manner described herein, as these are twoof the components that make the most noise within the air conditioningsystem 800/900, and which also can allow for external precipitation suchas rain or snow to enter into the air conditioning system 800/900.

In particular, with respect to the condenser unit 842, there are thecondenser compressors 842A, which are placed inside the out skin 800A ofthe condenser air conditioning unit 800, thereby maintaining noise fromthe condenser unit compressors 842A substantially within thatsubstantially enclosed area of the air conditioning unit 800. Further,the condenser unit fans 842B are covered by a condenser canopy 1200,which will be further described.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the condenser canopy 1200 includes a frame 1205 (asshown in FIG. 6 ) sidewalls 1210, a top plate 1220, and an air opening1230, with a plurality of moveable louvers 1240 positioned in a parallelarrangement in order to open and close, preferably in unison, usingeither a motorized unit 1250A (as shown in FIG. 6 ) or a manual lever,described hereinafter, in order to both (1) further reduce noiseemissions into the external environment, and; (2) further reduceprecipitation from entering into the air handling unit through thecondenser fans 842B.

Still further, the sidewalls 1210 and top plate 1220, with preferably awelded steel frame and metal shrouding components bolted thereto thattogether provide a canopy that maintains noise therein, which afterinternal reflections, a muffled version thereof is primarily emittedthrough the air opening 1230, as well as provide for keepingprecipitation out. The presence of the moveable louvers 1240 positionedin a parallel arrangement allow for their closure either based upon theneed for reduced noise or a precipitation event, as will be describedfurther herein.

In a similar manner with respect to the exhaust fans 910, different fromthe previously described system, they are reconfigured so as to beupwardly facing, similar to the condenser unit fans 842B, whereaspreviously they were arranged in a horizontal arrangement as shown inFIG. 2C. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4 , the exhaust fans 910 expel the airupwards, toward an exhaust canopy 1300, which will be further described.

The exhaust canopy 1300 includes a frame (not shown) sidewalls 1310, atop plate 1320, and an air opening 1330, with a plurality of moveablelouvers 1340 positioned in a parallel arrangement in order to open andclose, preferably in unison, using either a motorized unit or a manuallever, as described previously and hereinafter, in order to both (1)further reduce noise emissions into the external environment, and; (2)further reduce precipitation from entering into the air handling unitthrough the exhaust fans 910.

Still further, the sidewalls 1310 and top plate 1320, are again made ofa welded steel frame and metal shrouding components bolted thereto,which together provide a canopy that maintains noise therein, whichafter internal reflections, a muffled version thereof is primarilyemitted through the air opening 1330, as well as provide for keepingprecipitation out. The presence of the moveable louvers 1340 positionedin a parallel arrangement allow for their closure either based upon theneed for reduced noise or a precipitation event, as will be describedfurther herein.

As mentioned, both the compressor louvers 1240 and the exhaust louvers1340 positioned in a parallel arrangement in order to open and close,preferably in unison, with the opening and closing being performed usinga motorized unit or a manual lever. These are preferably performed by acontrol system that implements the functions shown in FIG. 5 , describedhereinafter, such as the control system 1000 described with reference toFIG. 3 .

With respect to noise minimization, depending on location of thefacility, the louvers can be timed to close further or completely, so asto maintain a noise level within the acceptable noise standards of thecommunity, which standards can change at different times of the day. Inparticular, more noise abatement, and louvers further closed, willtypically occur during the evening hours, though this can change. Thisis shown in the FIG. 5 operational diagram 4000 as the time of day event4010, which depending on the time of day, decision block 4020 will causean opening signal 4030 or a closing signal 4040. It is understood thatthe opening signal 4020 and the closing signal 4040 can also includetherein an amount of closing (10% . . . , 20% . . . 50%, . . . 100%) ora similar amount of opening.

With respect to precipitation events, the louvers can be caused to closefurther or completely, so as to keep precipitation out, as triggered byeither an actual or a predicted storm, based upon either external remoteweather inputs or precipitation sensors disposed on or near the airconditioning system 800/900 at some external location. This is shown inthe FIG. 5 operational diagram 4000 as the precipitation event 4050,which depending on the amount of precipitation occurring, decision block4060 will cause an opening signal 4070 or a closing signal 4080. It isunderstood that the opening signal 4070 and the closing signal 4080 canalso include therein an amount of closing (10% . . . , 20% . . . 50% . .. 100%) or a similar amount of opening. The opening and closing signalsfor the time of day block can be used to create a predetermined noiseprofile, which covers different times of day, days of the week, weeks ofthe month, months of the year; and also can vary depending on otherfactors. In contrast, given the sporadic nature of weather, the openingand closing signals for the precipitation block are typically derivedfrom real time or near-real time data, such as from the sensorsdescribed herein, which will create precipitation signals that can beused to control the opening and closing.

While in many instances the plurality of moveable louvers 1240 and theplurality of moveable louvers 1340 associated with the condenser and theexhaust, respectively are controlled to operate in the same manner, ifdesired, the plurality of moveable louvers 1240 can be controlledindependently of the plurality of moveable louvers 1340.

It should also be noted that operationally, it is preferable not toconstantly be changing the position of the louvers, and preferablyhaving an interval during which the position is maintained constant,such as quarter hour or hour intervals, although intervals that arelonger can also occur, such as 4 or 6 hours.

In another aspect, a reconciliation functional block 4085 is shown, suchthat if the time-of-day event block 4010 suggests an opening of thelouvers, and the precipitation event block 4040 suggests a closing. Apreferred rule to use is if either of the blocks suggests a closing thanabsent other circumstances, the closing should occur. In that vein,there is also an override function 1490, as shown, which may occur ifother considerations warrant opening or closing the louvers, though atypical decision would be to open the louvers completely and allow formaximum efficiency.

It is also noted that the canopies can be oriented so that the airopening 1230 or air opening 1330 opens so that air and noise aredirected away from the building (as shown in FIG. 4 ) or toward thebuilding (not shown). In certain situations, given the size of thefacility, orienting the air opening so air and noise are directed towardthe building can be advantageous.

Although the present invention has been particularly described withreference to embodiments thereof, it should be readily apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications andsubstitutes are intended within the form and details thereof, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, itwill be appreciated that in numerous instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Further, those skilled in the art will understand thatvariations can be made in the number and arrangement of componentsillustrated in the above figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioning apparatus comprising: a warmair intake opening for receiving warm air; a cool air outlet opening foremitting cool air; an exhaust air opening for emitting vented air; aheat exchange unit containing at least one exhaust fan that emits thevented air, thereby allowing return air to pass through a returnopening; an exhaust canopy that covers the at least one exhaust fan andprovides an opening through which the vented air will pass, the exhaustcanopy further including a plurality of exhaust canopy louvers, theplurality of exhaust canopy louvers being controlled to open or close; afilter chamber configured to receive and filter the return air toprovide filtered air; a condenser unit coupled to the filter chamberwhich cools the filtered air to create cool air; at least one condenserfan that emits heat from the condenser unit; a condenser canopy thatcovers the at least one condenser fan and provides an opening throughwhich the heat from the condenser unit will pass, the condenser canopyfurther including a plurality of condenser canopy louvers, the pluralityof condenser canopy louvers being controlled to open or close; and acool air fan operable to push the cool air toward the cool air outletopening.
 2. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising an outlet damper operable to control an amount of the coolair delivered from the condenser unit to the cool air outlet opening. 3.The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heatexchange unit is disposed above the filter chamber and the condenserunit, and wherein the top surface of the condenser unit is adjacent tothe top surface of the heat exchange unit.
 4. The air conditioningapparatus according to claim 3 wherein the heat exchange unit iscontained within a first housing, the filter chamber and the condenserunit are contained within a second housing, and the return opening isdisposed between the first housing and the second housing.
 5. The airconditioning apparatus according to claim 1 further including a controlsystem, the control system operable to automatically control each of theplurality of exhaust canopy louvers and the plurality of condensercanopy louvers in dependence on a predetermined noise profile andprecipitation signals from a precipitation sensor.
 6. The airconditioning apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the plurality ofexhaust canopy louvers and the plurality of condenser canopy louvers arecontrolled to operate in the same manner and thereby be maintained in asame relative position.
 7. The air conditioning apparatus according toclaim 6 wherein the control system is further operable to automaticallycontrol each of the at least one exhaust fan, a return damper, anoutside air damper, the condenser unit, a bypass damper, the cool airfan, and the outlet damper.
 8. The air conditioning apparatus accordingto claim 1 wherein the exhaust canopy and the condenser canopy are eachmade of metal.
 9. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 4wherein the first housing is attachable to and detachable from thesecond housing.
 10. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 9wherein the first housing is disposed above the second housing.
 11. Theair conditioning apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the at leastone exhaust fan is disposed in a location directly above the returnopening, the return opening being positioned in a floor of the firsthousing and a ceiling of the second housing.
 12. The air conditioningapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the warm air intake opening andthe cool air outlet opening connect with the exterior wall of abuilding.
 13. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the air conditioning apparatus is disposed in an outdoorenvironment.
 14. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 13,wherein the at least one exhaust fan emits the vented air into theoutdoor environment.
 15. The air conditioning apparatus according toclaim 13, wherein the at least one condenser fan emits heat from thecondenser unit into the outdoor environment.
 16. An air conditioningsystem for a building requiring a high volume of cooled air, thebuilding having an exterior wall that provides a barrier against theexternal environment and includes a heated air opening disposed adjacentto a return air opening, the system comprising: a warm exhaust outletduct formed through the heated air opening; a cool air inlet duct formedthrough the return air opening; an air conditioning apparatus connectedto and that receives heated air from the warm exhaust outlet duct,connected to and emits cooled air into the cool air inlet duct, andconfigured to emit vented air into the external environment through anexhaust opening, the air conditioning apparatus disposed in the externalenvironment, external to the exterior wall, and mounted adjacent theexterior wall, the air conditioning apparatus further including: a heatexchanged unit containing at least one exhaust fan that emits heat fromthe heated air as the vented air, thereby allowing return air to passthrough a return opening that contains a return damper disposed therein;an exhaust canopy that covers the at least one exhaust fan and providesan opening through which the vented air will pass to the externalenvironment, the exhaust canopy further including a plurality oflouvers, the plurality of louvers being controlled to open or close; afilter chamber, the filter chamber including an air intake area coupledto the heat exchange unit and an air filter, the filter chamber beingconfigurable to receive the return air based upon a return air damperposition, the filter chamber providing filtered air; a cooling unitcoupled to the filter chamber that has an air cooling area through whichthe filtered air passes to create the cooled air, the cooling unitincluding: a direct cooling coil filled with a cooling substance whichthe filtered air passes, the cooling substance being circulated througha condenser unit disposed within a walled area of the air conditioningapparatus; at least one condenser fan associated with the condenser unitto emit heat from the cooling substance being circulated, the heat beingvented into the external environment, thereby allowing the coolingsubstance to cool and condense; a condenser canopy that covers the atleast one condenser fan and provides an opening through which the heatwill pass to the external environment, the condenser canopy furtherincluding a plurality of condenser louvers, controllable to open orclose; and one or more air cooling area fans operable to push thefiltered air through the air cooling area and toward the cool air inletduct.
 17. The air conditioning system according to claim 16 wherein theheat exchange unit is disposed above the filter chamber and the coolingunit, and the cooling unit top surface is adjacent to the bottom surfaceof the heat exchange unit.
 18. The air conditioning system according toclaim 16 further including a control system operable to automaticallycontrol each of the plurality of louvers in dependence on one or more ofa predetermined noise profile and precipitation signals.
 19. The airconditioning system according to claim 18 wherein the plurality ofcondenser louvers and the plurality of exhaust louvers are controlled tooperate in the same manner and thereby be maintained in a same relativeposition.
 20. The air conditioning system according to claim 19 whereinthe control system is further operable to automatically control each ofthe exhaust fan, the return damper, the outside air damper, thecondenser, the bypass damper, the fan and the outlet damper.